The Scrolls of Nek'rul [Scroll One, Chapter One]

Flaring gold and crimson, the sun had crested over the ocean and was casting its brilliance over the azure waters and golden sands of the coast.  Upon the shore and sitting upon the branches of the trees that lay on the coastline, a group of adventurers stood, watching the golden disc set until the stars blanketed the sky with their sparkling wonder.  Each a different race, but bearing the same tabard over their armor, the group gazed intently on the horizon as if they were waiting for something.

There was Zuya, the forest elf and priestess of the Snow Leopard goddess Kiliana. Her bright green eyes shone in the light of the setting sun with a brilliance that rivaled the sun itself.  Her chosen garb was a silver robe with white trim that was a size too big for her and was loose, covering her athletic curves.  Her auburn hair was pulled back into a long ponytail that reached down to the small of her back and in her slender hands she held a long blue staff that held ornate diamonds down its length and curved slightly at each end.  The top of the staff was ornamented with a crescent hovering over the staff's tip and a disc in the shape of a cat's eye hovering between the tips of the crescent.  Ultimately the unspoken leader of the group, she had a sharp tongue, sharper gaze, and sharpest mind among them.  She was a bit bossy to most of the group, but was like a purring kitten when around Rocco.

The large man beside her was Rocco.  A barbarian clad in tough, black, drake-flamed armor.  His chest piece had intricate draconic symbols etched into it.  Upon the back of the armor was a large golden serpent dragon coiling into a hypnotic swirl.  The embroidered dragon's eye was a ruby and seemed to flare with life.  Rocco's pauldrons were also blackened leather but reinforced with iron plating designed in the shape of dragon skulls.  Again, with ruby eyes that seemed to flare with life.  He wore a blackened leather kilt that held many belts and vials of potions held upon them.  The kilt came down to his knees and was frayed with scarlet fur at the bottom and the waist.  A hand axe made of dragon bone and a mysterious enchanted metal glinted brilliantly in the light of the setting sun and the ruby's on either side of the blade shone with a flaming life that would terrify those that looked upon it. Rocco was a half-orc, half-stoneman beast of a man.  His stone-like flesh was coated in tattoos and scars.  His beard was full and sharp, and appeared as if it were chiseled onto the statuesque face of his.  His hair was long and had the same chiseled look and feel to it, as if it were actual stone.  His gleaming red eyes flared with a deadly calm.  If one were to gaze into them, they'd feel as if they were staring into the eye of a storm and that the worst of his fury were on the verge of coming.  What most didn't know about Rocco was that, although he was a monster of a warrior on the battlefield, he was a big teddy-bear to Zuya whom he treated as his little sister.  His gaze shifted to the boy sitting on one of the branches in the tree nearest them.

It was Ionas, the dark elf sat upon the branch, letting his silver cloak drape over him like a blanket a child would wrap around themselves.  His matching silver eyes looked back at Rocco and he nodded.  His face was scarred with an embellished scar across his eyes.  The wound that gave him that scar should have blinded him but thanks to some magic, he turned a couple balls of silver into new eyes and his sight is mostly aura-based, only ever able to see the aura outline of those around him.  These enchanted eyes also give him a 360 degree view around him at all times so he's able to see all around him at once at all times.  He pulled up his silver hood, hiding his spiked-up, snowy hair.  Under his cloak he wore light leather armor that was blending of white and blue.  The left pec of the chest piece was white while the right one was red.  The abs and back where a swirling mix that made this piece of his armor look like a swirling lollipop style.  He wore no pauldrons but had two shoulder straps that carried a wand in each one.  One glowing orange and red with a spirit of white while the other glowed a silvery misty way with a spirit of ice rested within.  His gauntlets were made of whitened leather and had a peculiar design of swirls on each knuckle. His slim face had a slight gaunt to it making it seem like he was slightly starved even though he had one of the biggest appetites of the group...and the highest metabolism.  He laid back on the branch and sighed, revealing his sharp, shark-like teeth.

Finally night had blossomed and their wait was over.  Ionas sat back up and gazed at the horizon. "I swear if she doesn't hurry up I'm heading to the city without her." His accent was heavily western, a native of the area.  "Seriously, does she have to show off like this EVERY damn night?"

Zuya sighed and shrugged. "Velari's a vampire, you know she can't come out during the day...and besides, she enjoys showing off her mastery of water. I never understood her obsession with that element." Her voice was rather heartlandish, with a slight lilt and low pitch to it.  She sounded almost boyish. "And her coffin lies at the BOTTOM of the drop off, so just let her have her fun."

Ionas groaned and finally turned his gaze back at the sea where there would be an eruption of water.  A massive pillar of bursting and swirling water formed about half a mile out.  The tower of liquid had swirling tendril twisting around it and at the top of it, if one looked hard enough or through a spyglass, stood a woman clad in a tight, black dress with red trim that flowed down around her feet.  Her wings were spread out.  The leathery wings were torn near the edges and showed several scars, indicating she had seen many years of fighting and adventure.  Her left eye glowed with a golden hue to it and her right eye pulsed with a scarlet bloodlust.  Her pale skin shone in the starlight and seemed to shine as brightly as the moon would if it were out. From behind her would rise her black coffin that held spikes along its outer edges and bore a large silver crescent at the head of it.  Hopping upon it, the vampire grinned wildly and used a burst of water to send her crashing onto the surface and the sound of another eruption would have her blast off across the water, surfing towards her friends on the shoreline.

Ionas would facepalm watching her show off and would roll his eyes, turning away and looking to Rocco and Zuya.  Just as he hopped off the branch and before he'd reach the ground, Velari soared into the air before hitting the shore and crashed into him, sending the two of them and the coffin flailing and rolling into the air and dirt.  After the cloud of sand settled, the vampire woman stood with one foot on the coffin, a grin on her face and a bottle of red liquid in her left hand.  She'd be looking at Zuya and Rocco with a cocky smirk and a look as if what she had just done was completely normal of her...which it kind of was.

"Hello lovers." She'd greet the two before looking around, her cocky grin turned into a confused look as she'd spin on her heels, looking for Ionas. "Ion, where'd ya go?!" She yelled out, standing on top of the coffin, turning around and looking for a set of legs twitchin in the sand as if he had been buried.  Instead the group heard a series of hyper knocks and slams into the coffin's lid and Velari laughed.  She stepped off the coffin and Ionas burst from it, the lid flying off and the vampire catching it casually while sipping from the bottle. The boy was coughing violently and hacking up sand.

"For the love of Vei, Velari..." He'd cough out at her.

Zuya stepped forward, cutting him off. "Velari, we've been summoned by the king as you know." Her voice was stern and she almost glared at the two. "You shouldn't goof around tonight.  He has an important task for us."

The woman in black sipped the wine. "Really? Damn, I miss a lot during the day." She shrugs and basically throws Ionas out of her coffin and pulls a large crossbow out of it that has draconic symbols etched into the wood and metal. She slung the coffin over her back with one hand after downing the bottle and tossing it at Ionas's head. "So, what's the task?"

Rocco stepped forward this time. "We don't be the knowing."  His voice had a heavy northern accent and it was obvious Common wasn't his first language. "The courier did the fainting when he crashed through window of the inn." His arms were crossed and he looked at Ionas who was rubbing the back of his head. "If we are to be doing this journey to capital city of Bosca, we must be the quick on the feet and go."

Ionas stood up and brushed himself off and with a little magic, turned the empty bottle into a glass dove and placed it in his pack.  Ionas was from Bosca and earlier had let the others know of the two day trip to its gates...and the half day journey to the palace.  Bosca was a MASSIVE city that if one were to walk from one side of it to the other without stopping would take them nearly three days.  The mage nodded, bringing up his silvery hood and flicking Velari in the head with his index finger.

"And you showing off just has us taking more time. Seriously...do you have to sleep on the sea bed every single night? You know it wouldn't kill you to sleep in an inn with the rest of us...you know, like a normal person." He scolded her with a rather annoyed expression on his face.

Velari brushed his hand away. "Oh honey, you know I'm anything but normal...besides, sleeping with you mortals nearby would drive me bonkers.  I can hardly stand YOUR smell Ionas."

Zuya sighed and beckoned Rocco to follow, setting up the coast towards the forest where a carriage had waited for them.  The driver was practically dozing off until he heard the party approach.  He mainly heard Ionas's and Velari's bickering over her entrance and sleeping arrangements.  Velari was yawning and giving snarky remarks, giggling and poking at him every time he ruffled his own hair in frustration.  The driver waved over to them and beckoned them over. He snapped the reins once to get the horses ready.  When the party boarded they began setting off towards the nearby port town of Vulensa where they would take join a caravan heading towards Bosca.  The ride back was fairly boring as Zuya explained how they got the summons from the king.  Apparently Ionas had gotten into a barfight that ended with Rocco throwing seven drunkards through the wall of the pub. In the middle of the cheering a man in red leather with a golden hammer emblazoned on the chest had run in, panting and drenched in sweat.  The first thing Rocco did was offer him some vodka before the man handed him a crushed letter with the royal seal upon it.  The man had passed out and apparently for good health Rocco poured a mug of vodka on him.  Ionas had read the letter to Zuya and Rocco since neither of them spoke or read the Boscan language. The king was summoning them for an urgent task that may hold the peace of the entire kingdom at risk.

With this in mind, the group had set off gathering information on caravans that were traveling to the capital city and trying to find proper enchanters and possibly some hired muscle to help along the way.  People mainly traveled by caravan when moving towards other cities as it was much safer than traveling alone in the wilderness.  Ionas had gotten into a couple more fights with strangers and his frustration caused a small explosion that left a small ship sunk at the docks.  Finally, the group had come to Velari's resting place to get her.

Velari nodded and basically understood the situation. "So, the caravan we'll be traveling with...what kind is it?" Her question was a simple one as their last experience with caravans had them traveling with a circus and wound with her sticking her head into the mouth of a dragon, not a pleasant experience.

Zuya sighed. "We'll be traveling with a group of treasure hunters...goblin treasure hunters." This made Velari groan and lay her head back on the cushion of her seat.

"For Kilinia's sake...not goblins..." Velari had several experiences with goblins, none of which were pleasant and all of which ended her with her losing most of her clothes and jewelry, as well as her crossbow on one account.

The group traveled for several hours, talking, sharing stories and generally laughing with each other unbeknownst to what lay outside their carriage. Glowing silver eyes followed the vehicle, staring hungrily at its driver, horses and travelers inside.  Hungry snarls and howls could be heard echoing through the woods, yet the group paid no attention as they felt it was just the wolves howling....